Global summit on women empowerment kicks off in India

NEW DELHI, India - Around 250 women leaders gathered here for the opening of a global summit that aims to empower women all over the region.

Dubbed as the Vital Voices of Asia Women’s Leadership and Training Summit, the conference aims to strengthen a powerful network of regional women leaders across sectors and cultures.

The Philippines’ efforts to empower women and that of other countries are among the issues highlighted during the summit, which runs from Sept. 15 to 18 at the luxurious Taj Palace Hotel here.

Filipina entrepreneur Pacita Juan, one of the founders of Figaro Coffee Shop and who now runs Echostore, an environment-friendly retail shop, shared her experience in breaking into the male-dominated coffee business.

“I’ve always been drinking a lot of coffee. When you go into a business, it should be something you love. If it’s just for the money, it’s good also but it’s not going to be sustainable but if you love it, it’s like you’re not selling. For me, I established the National Coffee Development Board so I could talk to government. I went around the country, talked to farmers and made coffee my advocacy for life,” Juan said during the second day of the summit here.

The summit focused on three key areas: Women as an Economic Force, Women in Political Leadership and Public Life and Safeguarding Women’s Human Rights.

In his welcome address, US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer said a country could succeed economically if its women are given enough opportunities.

“When women have equal opportunities in work and education, their children and families do better, their communities do better, their country does better, we all do better,” he said.

Aside from Juan, other women leaders who are speakers in the summit include Kiran Bedi, India’s highest-ranking female police officer; Jaspal Bindra, group executive director and chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank in Asia and Tarun Das, former chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Filipina entrepreneurs Jenina Fernandez and Rosaleine Sacdalan-Ramos are also among the participants of the summit. They are among the delegates from Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Women program, an academic course designed to help women entrepreneurs across the globe.

Sessions throughout the summit are designed to highlight challenges, share best practices and develop new ideas and action plans for future programs that will be implemented through a new leadership initiative for South Asia and East Asia Pacific.

“This initiative will enable participants to stay connected through the Vital Voices Global Partnership website and social networking community so they can continue to engage, share information, build relationships and foster new partnerships,” according to Vital Voices.

The summit is hosted by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-government organization founded in 1997 by then US First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Beyond the summit, participants are expected to continue engaging, sharing information and building new partnerships for the empowerment of women, said Alyse Nelson, president and chief executive officer of Vital Voices Global Partnership.